Adjustable wrench



Oct. 22, 1935. WOOLLEY 2,018,047

' I ADJUSTABLE WRENCH Filed June 28, 1934 INVENTOR. I Raymond J, 14 001163;

ATTORNEY.

Patented Oct. 22, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to wrenches, and the object of the invention is to provide an adjustable wrench wherein the jaws may be quickly opened or closed and that is of inexpensive yet highly 5 efficient construction and. of sufficient strength for the purpose.

Heretofore, it has been usual to provide an adjustable wrench with a screw means for effecting the adjustment which is slow in action and which, due to rust and dirt eventually accumulating therein, is difiicult to operate. Therefore. a feature of my invention resides in the provision of a slidable cam block having opposed inclined faces engaging similarly inclined faces 15 provided on the opposed arms of the jaws of the wrench. The jaws are provided with ribs engaging in grooves on the cam block to maintain the block in position and a spring is employed tending to open the jaws automatically; The

wrench structure may be of two forms as hereinafter described.

It is also a feature and object of the invention to provide adjustable jaws slidable relatively one to the other in opening or closing the same and constructed to prevent lateral separation of the jaws when pressure is applied thereto in operation.

These and other various objects and features of the invention are hereinafter more fully de- 30 scribed and claimed, and the preferred form of construction of a wrench embodying my invention is shown in the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a wrench embody-- 35 ing my'invention showing the cam block movable in one direction to close the jaws and a spring automatically tending to open the jaws automatically on movement of the cam block in the other direction.

40 Fig. 2 is an edge elevation thereof.

Fig. 3 is an elevation similar to Fig. 1 showing the jaws in the closed position.

Fig. 4 is an elevation of an alternative form of the wrench in which the cam block is mov- 5 able in a direction opposite that shown in Figs. 1

and 2 to open the jaws. I

Fig. 5 is a section taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a section taken on line 6--6 of Fig. 1. The wrench consists of the two arms I and 2 50 that are right and left in form pivoted together at the lower end by a pivot as at 3 and each respectively having a jaw 4 and 5. The arms are offset at the lower end as shown in Fig. 2 through which offset portions the pivot pin 3 extends and 55 each of the jaws are grooved as indicated at 6 to receive a base portion 1 of each jaw respectively. These base portions 1' have a rib 8 riding in a groove 9 of the other and these ribs prevent lateral separation of the jaws.

It is to be noted that the portion 1 of one jaw 5 seats on a shoulder I!) on the arm of the other so that the pressure on the jaw 4 is taken on this shoulder it) and the pressure on the jaw 5 is taken on a similar shoulder H) of the arm I. These shoulders 19 and I0 and the meeting face 10 of the respective members I and l are preferably struck on an are having the pivot pin as its center and thus at any of the adjusted positions of the jaws the portions 1 and l are in engagement with the respective shoulders 10 and N1 of the two arms. These arms I and 2 intermediate the ends have a central rib l l and I2 respectively and the arms on each side of the rib from about centrally between the ends have converging faces or shoulders 53 and 14 respectively, the angle of i which is anon-slipping angle by about twelve degrees to the longitudinal center line of the Wrench.

The cam block i5, as shown in Fig. 6, has grooves in its side face to receive the ribs l land E2 of the arms i and 2 and has the inclined side face it to ride the shoulder l3 of the arm I and the similar but oppositely inclined face I! to ride the shoulder M of the arm 2. The cam block I5 is freely slidable on the ribs and by moving the cam block toward the jaws as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1 it will be noted that the arms are separated and the jaws 4 and 5 are caused to approach each other as shown in Fig. 3. Thus with the wrench with the cam block in the position shown in Fig. 1 being placed on a nut, movement of the cam block toward the jaws by the thumb and finger of the operator will close the same on a nut and movement of the cam block in an opposite direction permits the loop spring I8 to 0 open the jaws to the position shown in Fig. 1.

Thus this wrench may be very rapidly manipulated to various sizes of nut within the limit of the jaws and it is to be noted that, in applying pressure on the wrench to turn the nut, the pressure is taken by the cam block and that, at the limit of opening of the jaws in the position shown in Fig. 1, the shoulder portion H] of one arm and ID of the other is engaged by the respective other arm at the point the angular face l3 meets the base line of the portion 1. Thus if there is any looseness between the angular faces of the cam block and similar faces of the arms in this particular position of the cam block the wrench can- 55 not be opened beyond its intended full open position as is shown in Fig. 1.

In the alternative form of construction shown in Fig. 4 the arms I and 2 have the ribs H and l2 corresponding to the ribs II and I2 of Fig. 1 but the inclined faces 13 and M on the arms are oppositely inclined from the arrangement of the faces I3 and I4 shown in Fig. 1 and the cam block l5 has correspondingly inclined side faces and by movement of the cam block in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 4 the jaws are caused to close. Thus in'placing this wrench on a nut the cam block is moved in a clined faces of the arms in engagement with,

the cam block and thus has the same action and effect as the, spring I8 of the structure shown in Fig. 1. The cam blocks !5 and I5 are preferably provided with roughened side faces to better enable the same to be moved by the thumb and/or finger of the operator. 7

From the foregoing description it is believed evident that the device is very simple in construction and that the two arms and jaws are practically duplicate in form except for the angularity of the jaws as it is preferred to have the parallel faces of the jaws at a slight angle to the longitudinal center line of the wrench, It is to be observed however, that these parallel faces of the,

jaws 4 and 5 in either the form of construction shown in Fig; 1 or in the form shown in Fig. 4

may be made parallel with the longitudinal center line of the wrench in which case the two parts will be exactly duplicate in form and may be made from a single die or pattern without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention asset .forth in the appended claims.

Having thus briefly described my invention, its utility andmode of operation, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States-is- 1. A wrench comprising two arms and jaws, the arms being pivoted together at one end and the jaws being at the opposite end and having practically parallel opposed faces, the jaws extending across each other intermediate their ends, the said jaws having overlapping portions in a tongue and groove relationship preventing lateral 5 of the cam member being grooved and the ribs 15 on the arms lying therebetween slidably supporting the cam member, and a spring tending to separate the jaws.

2. A wrench comprising two integral jaw and arm members arranged to lie in the same general 20 plane, the arms each being inturned'at one end to overlie a similar portion on the other, a pivot pin extending between the said inturned portions, a jaw at the opposite end of each arm, the arrangement being such that the arms cross each 25 other between their pivoted portions and jaws, each jaw being grooved on the face to'receive a portion of the other jaw, the arms having a portion of their inner faces in a converging relationship, a rib like portion on each arm extending 0,

inwardly of the converging faces, a cam member comprising a block having its opposite faces in converging relation engaging the converging faces of the arms and having grooves in the said converging faces to receive the ribs, the thickness of 35 ment of the cam member in a direction away from the, apex of the converging side faces of the arms the spring acts to bring the arms together and separate the jaws.

RAYMOND L. WOOLLEY. 

